Weather and floods create challenges for Raid the North

The 2007 Raid the North Extreme is set to get under way on June 23rd and the recent flooding and spring melt concerns further inland are giving organizers some challenges to make sure that the event takes place in as safe an environment as possible.

They outlined their efforts thus far and the progress of their plans for the Daily News on Wednesday.

Race organizers eye spring melt
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Page one

Frontier Adventure Racing officials say that flooding on the Bulkley, Skeena and Nass rivers has led to changes in the course for the 2007 Raid the North Extreme.

"The actual course is a carefully guarded secret until the night before the race," said Geoff Langford of Frontier Adventure Racing.

"For the racers, that is part of the fun. But it's safe to say that we had planned a course that explored the Bulkley and Skeena river basins. Now we have the concerns posed by flooding, and by the instability of the remaining snow pack.

"This is, of course, something that we've been monitoring for several months, and we have well-developed contingency plans, though we had hoped that the spring melt would play out better for us."

In more than 10 years of operation, Langford said that safety has remained Frontier Adventure Racing's most important priority.

"In addition to competitor safety, we're concerned by the perception that we would be running an extreme sporting event in a place where emergency services are already fully engaged," said Langford.

"That is not something that is in the best interests of the event or of the communities."

The course of the six-day, expedition-style, adventure race will remain a secret until the Welcoming Ceremonies at the Lester Centre on the evening of June 22.

"We've known for quite some time that we might have to modify the race, particularly as we watched snow conditions develop this winter," said course designer Lawrence Foster.
"But I always like to think that when one door closes, another opens.

"We used this opportunity to revisit the plan and make Raid the North Extreme even better. In fact, the new course takes the race somewhere we've always wanted to go.

"I can guarantee you that competitors will be really excited when they learn about this course."
Tourism Prince Rupert and other local partners have been working hard to facilitate the new vision for this year's Raid the North Extreme.

"This is a really exciting event for the North," said Anthony Everett, CEO of the Northern BC Tourism Association.

"Events such as this attract the attention of national and international media to our region.

"Several key travel writers are now confirmed to visit Prince Rupert for Raid the North Extreme, and some will carry on to explore other parts of the North. This is an opportunity for all of northern B.C."

Raid the North takes place June 23 to June 30.

The six-day race covers 500 kilometres of adventure for co-ed teams of four on a course designed by Lawrence Foster (Team Holofibre), the designer of the 2004 AR World Champs course in Newfoundland.